


Delicate

by wewriteletters



Series: Something Different [3]
Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Just a little angst, Love Confessions, build up and pacing idk her, shaun and claire are both messes with emotions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 04:48:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18024992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wewriteletters/pseuds/wewriteletters
Summary: Claire was kissing Shaun, and that was all she could think about.





	Delicate

**Author's Note:**

> Hey again! I am here to post another fic that I started a year a go and just now decided to edit and upload because I need shaire content and season two just isn't delivering. This is kinda a sequel to Little Lies We Tell Ourselves/Little Truths We Tell Ourselves but only in that they take place in the same AU and I build off feelings expressed in those stories in this one, but you can definitely understand this without without reading either of them.

Claire was kissing Shaun.

That was the only thing she could focus on. Which Claire supposed was a good thing. What else are you supposed to focus on when kissing someone?

Maybe Claire was also focused on the fact that somewhere in the past thirty seconds, it had really gone from a quick peck, to practically making out. She could feel Shaun’s hands fluttering around her; it was obvious he had no idea what to do with them. Just a few seconds ago they were on her waist but now they were somewhere closer to her shoulders. Her own hands were curled in front of her; definitely an odd position, or at least different from any way she had held her hands with previous partners. It felt too proper, like she was a school girl being forced to wait in line and hold still. Claire wasn’t sure how much contact Shaun was comfortable with at this point, so she had decided to play it safe. But then again, Shaun was touching her shoulders, so maybe he would be okay if she let her fingers dance on his as well?

Before Claire had a chance to try out anything more, their kiss ended. It wasn’t abrupt or anything; after all, Claire assumed they had been kissing for at least half a minute. It just gave her rush of wistfulness that they would continue. Shaun had been the one to break it off; he just softly pulled back, leaving Claire’s lips puckered to thin air. And as she leaned back to get a better view of his entire face, she realized how much he was blushing. It was pretty adorable if she did say so herself and the sight of Shaun being red as a tomato was enough to bring her back down from the high their kiss had brought.

She had really just kissed Shaun Murphy.

And he was good at it! She remembered him mentioning the fact that he had kissed his neighbor- Lea maybe?- but she also remembered him talking about never having been kissed to Doctor Andrews. So this was probably only his second time. It made Claire appreciate it all the more.

“Wow.” That was all she could get out. Shaun was still blushing and he had become extremely interested in fidgeting with his hands. Claire frowned. Was he upset about what had just happened? Was he embarrassed? She wasn’t even sure what to say. She decided to go for reassurance, in case embarrassment was the case. “That was just….incredible.”

And completely unexpected. In fact this entire night had been unexpected. Reflecting on it now, Claire wasn’t even sure how the two of them had gone from deciding to go to the bar after work together to watch the football game, to Claire inviting him over to her place, to the two of them making an utter mess of her kitchen because Shaun mentioned pancakes and she began craving them, to standing by her door, kissing. 

And Shaun had been the one to initiate it! They had been about to head out so Claire could drive him back to his place and she had turned with a smile to tell him how much fun she had had. And his face seemed a bit unsure; like he knew he wanted to do something but he wasn’t sure if he was brave enough. And then he had leaned forward and Claire realized what he was thinking about and Claire noticed how beautiful his eyes looked under her hall light and how she could see little bits of pancake batter still stuck in his hair and how much she wanted to kiss him too. So she leaned forward to meet his lips and kissed him back. 

And it was wonderful.

But now, looking at Shaun, Claire began worrying that it might not have been as magical to him as it was to her. He seemed slightly distraught and bashful, even after her reassurance. Oh God maybe he hadn’t been leaning in for a kiss! Maybe he had just gone along with it because she seemed so into it. Maybe he did want to kiss but he hadn’t wanted it to go on for that long. Maybe he thought she was just bad at kissing. 

“Shaun,” she started. “Are you okay?”

He bite his lip and stepped back a bit. “Was this a date?”

Claire scrunched her nose, considering the question. “I mean, considering we just did that...But like I wasn’t asking you out on a date when I asked you to go to the bar if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I shouldn’t have kissed you. I’m sorry.”

“What? No, Shaun, you’re fine. I liked it. I wanted to kiss you too!” Claire stepped forward slightly. “I guess it’s a bit sudden but I mean...I liked it.” 

She smiled, hoping that would ease some of the tension. Shaun still looked stressed. She watched as his hand slowly moved up towards his hair and he began tugging on it. 

“This wasn’t a date...I shouldn’t have kissed you...Lea said...I’m sorry I didn’t…” Shaun trailed off. His face was a map of anxiety and regret. Claire desperately wished he didn’t look that way; she had felt so overjoyed after their kiss and it killed her that Shaun didn’t seem to feel the same way. “You’re not gonna want to be my friend now.” 

“Shaun what? What does Lea have to do with anything?” She stepped back to give him some more space in case he needed room to take a breathe, despite her instincts telling her to get closer to him to offer reassurance. With Shaun, that might just make everything worse.

“Lea told me that if a woman waited by the door reluctantly after a date, she wants me to kiss her. And you just did that, but then you said this wasn’t a date. I shouldn’t have kissed you.” Shaun’s hand had made its way from his hair back to his torso, where it wrapped around his other hand. He bowed his head forward and bounced on the soles of his feet. “I messed up. Please don’t be mad.” 

“I’m not mad Shaun!” Claire practically yelped. Which might have made the situation worse, as she noticed Shaun flinch at her tone. She quickly lowered her voice. “Please don’t think I’m mad. I’m just surprised. I didn’t think you...felt like that. About me.” Claire mentally kicked herself. Why was she sounding like a 7th grader freaking out because she had her first kiss behind the teachers back at her winter formal? Now she was blushing just as much as Shaun was. 

“I don’t know what I feel.” It was a simple answer, but Claire could feel the emotions behind them, bleeding through in Shaun’s voice. He sounded confused, almost pained, perhaps nervous. 

“Would you like to talk about it?” Claire asked quietly, not really sure what to do in this situation. “We can sit down.”

Shaun didn’t respond, but he made his way over to the couch and sat. Good start, Claire thought, as she followed him. And to her surprise, the moment she sat down, Shaun was speaking.

“I think I like you and I don’t know what to do,” he said, speaking slowly and with precision. He almost sounded like he was holding back tears; something Claire had never seen from him before. “I...I don’t want to lie to you.”

“Is that why you kissed me?” Claire felt weird, like she was prodding or integrating him. But she didn’t want to take him home when he was obviously so upset. And she hoped their friendship was at a point Shaun felt comfortable opening up to her, even with such a topic as this. 

“I kissed you because you were standing at the doorway and I thought this was a date and Lea said that if you’re on a date with a woman and she stands by the doorway she wants you to kiss her, but now I don’t think this is a date and you’re mad at me!” Shaun looked even more distraught than he had at the doorway, rocking back and forth slightly on the couch. He wasn’t looking at her at all, which wasn’t abnormal, he never made much eye contact in the first place, but the way his gaze was completely placed on the floor stood out. Claire started to reply, to tell Shaun that she wasn’t mad, to tell him it was okay.

To tell him that she loved every second of that kiss.

To tell him she thinks she likes him too. 

But Shaun spoke again, the words stammered, but firm. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have come here. I need to go.” He was standing again, gathering up his jacket in his arms, not even turning to look at Claire.  
“Shaun wait.” 

Claire was almost surprised he turned. She would understand if he wanted to get away. But she needed to tell him something. She needed to tell him how she felt. How she had been feeling for the past six months, since he showed up out of the blue that first day. She needed to tell him that she felt the same way. That they didn't have to understand it now, they didn’t have to call it anything yet, they didn’t have to do anything more. She just wanted to tell him how much he means to her, how much she cares about him, how whenever she’s not on the same service as him, she’s sad because hearing him talk about medicine with such joy is one of the highlights of her day, how she never wanted to admit it to herself, but a part of her was jealous when he was thinking about Lea, that she had never felt like this before.

That maybe, she loved him. And she was finally ready to admit it. 

But all she could get out was: “Can I kiss you?”

She didn’t know why that had been the only thought, out of a sea of emotions, that she had decided to articulate. Maybe she wanted to prove that their first kiss wasn’t a fluke, that they actually had something between them. 

Shaun looked up, shifting his coat in his arms. He was never the easiest to read. Claire was ready to put her foot in her mouth, although she didn’t really understand why. Shaun had already admitted to having feelings for her. He had kissed her five minutes ago for God’s sake. But she was still so terrified of putting herself out there like this. And she knew Shaun was feeling the same way. 

He didn’t move forward. But he did say, softly, “Okay.” 

Claire smiled, still a bit unsure of everything, as she walked towards him. 

“Do you mind if I…” she trailed off, lifting her hand towards his shoulder to indicate. “Can I touch your shoulder?”

“Okay,” he repeated, the red returning to his face, along with a small smile. 

Claire stood closer, giving Shaun enough room to pull back if he changed his mind, keeping her touch light as she set one hand on his left shoulder and leaned in.

The kiss was short compared to the first one. They were gentle, and Claire could tell they were both smiling even larger than before. When Claire pulled back slightly, both of them seemed like they wanted to draw back in. 

“That was nice,” Claire said, after it had ended. 

“Yes,” Shaun agreed. 

“Thank you,” Claire breathed. They were still fairly close, both looking down slightly, heads bent. Claire didn’t want to back up, but she knew Shaun might not like staying this close, so she did. She looked up finally, examining his face.

His eyes were still wide, she could see the bright blue so clearly; but he wasn’t scared or uncomfortable, he seemed more pensive. Claire simply observed until finally, he mumbled something.

“Are we dating now?” 

“Do you...do you want to do that?” Claire knew she wanted it, she knew she had wanted it for months. But she also knew she and Shaun had to be on the same page. 

“Yes,” Shaun said. He was getting louder, a smile was coming to his face. “Yes, Claire, I want to date you.”

“Well good, because I want to date you too.” Claire laughed, keeping her voice light. The two stood together in a comfortable silence, running the past few minutes over and over again in their head.

“I should go. We have work tomorrow. I don’t think Doctor Melendez will accept this as an excuse for being late,” Shaun finally said, sounding very reluctant. Claire couldn’t help slightly wilting at his words. Part of her wanting to invite him to spend the night, but that would be too much. They obviously both had feelings for each other, but they still needed time to figure things out. And that was okay with Claire.

She was just excited to get to know Shaun again. This time, as her boyfriend. 

They walked out together, again in a comfortable silence, as if they were both memorizing the moment for posterity. This time, it was Claire who broke the silence. 

“Shaun?” She asked as they made their way out the building. “When should we have our second date?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
